THIS SECTION IS FOR NEWS AND INTERESTING STORIES RELATED TO FOOD, NUTRITION AND FOOD PROCESSING. THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO KOSHER BUT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THE KOSHER CONSUMER, MANUFACTURER OR MASHGIACH.
January 31, 2020 from Food Dive:
"FCF closed on its acquisition of Bumble Bee's North American assets for $928 million."
"This pending bankruptcy reorganization and sale" "may be the only way the tuna company can envision advancing from its myriad legal and financial woes."
"Bumble Bee still owes $17 million to the U.S. Department of Justice, according to its bankruptcy filing. Meanwhile, former CEO Christopher Lischewski pleaded not guilty last year to associated criminal charges, and his trial began in California federal court on Nov. 4, according to Bloomberg."
"The tuna industry has been challenged by shifting consumer trends and concerns about overfishing and ocean pollution. Continuing sales declines also continue to pose problems. According to market research firm IRI, tuna sales fell 4% by volume between 2013 and October 2018. Millennials aren't very interested in canned products, and some of them don't even own can openers."
"Tuna producers have responded by introducing more convenient pouched products and innovative flavors, but sustainability factors and plant-based competitors — such as Good Catch, Sophie's Kitchen, Ocean Hugger Foods and Atlantic Natural Foods — are making things tougher. "
January 21, 2020 from Undercurrent News:
"A filing to a US bankruptcy court for the district of Delaware has confirmed the "stalking horse" bid by Taiwanese tuna trader FCF Co for Bumble Bee Foods has been successful."
"The filing states the auction for Bumble Bee has been cancelled, and that the stalking horse bid has been successful."
"FCF has agreed to pay the $17m outstanding from the $25m fine from the DOJ as part of its $925.6m offer for Bumble Bee. However, the DOJ was set to get a total of $81.5m if Lion Capital sold the company within five years, so $56.5m more. No mention of this is made in the documents and Undercurrent understands it won’t be paid, if the sale goes ahead as proposed."
"FCF supplies Bumble Bee with "nearly all" of its albacore tuna and a "substantial majority" of the skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tuna it uses for light meat canned tuna. "
December 4, 2019 - from Fooddive:
"Tuna giants StarKist and Bumble Bee both pleaded guilty to federal charges of price fixing in the last three years. Bumble Bee's guilty plea came with a $25 million fine, while StarKist was sentenced to pay $100 million. Chicken of the Sea served as the whistleblower in the investigation and wasn't fined. "
"The tuna industry has struggled to recover from these accusations as consumer demand has shifted and sales have dropped. According to market research firm IRI, tuna sales fell 4% by volume between 2013 and October 2018."
"This latest verdict is a reminder that C-suite executives can be found personally responsible for their business's actions."
July 29, 2019 - from SeafoodSource:
"Bumble Bee still owes $17 million to the U.S. Department of Justice, according to its bankruptcy filing. Meanwhile, former CEO Christopher Lischewski pleaded not guilty last year to associated criminal charges, and his trial began in California federal court on Nov. 4, according to Bloomberg."
"The tuna industry has been challenged by shifting consumer trends and concerns about overfishing and ocean pollution. Continuing sales declines also continue to pose problems. According to market research firm IRI, tuna sales fell 4% by volume between 2013 and October 2018. Millennials aren't very interested in canned products, and some of them don't even own can openers."
"Tuna producers have responded by introducing more convenient pouched products and innovative flavors, but sustainability factors and plant-based competitors — such as Good Catch, Sophie's Kitchen, Ocean Hugger Foods and Atlantic Natural Foods — are making things tougher."
"It will take some time to see whether Bumble Bee can adequately resolve its problems through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process and a sale of the company. FCF is a privately held global firm founded in 1972 and is Bumble Bee's largest creditor. One of its business lines is trading in frozen tuna for canning and sashimi, so there could be some synergies moving forward between FCF and Bumble Bee."
July 29, 2019 - from SeafoodSource:
"U.S.A.-based Bumble Bee Foods has defaulted on its major operating loan."
"Bumble Bee has been in technical default since the end of March 2019, but its lenders have agreed to a forbearance period, allowing the company to continue its efforts to restructure itself to regain its profitability."
"Bumble Bee has struggled to abide by the terms of the loan as it pays off a criminal fine and additional millions in civil settlements for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix the prices of canned tuna sold in the United States between 2011 and 2013. The U.S. Department of Justice agreed to lower the amount of the criminal fine to USD 25 million (EUR 22.8 million) to protect the company from insolvency."
"Bumble Bee refinanced 100 percent of its debt in August 2017, after its guilty plea in the criminal case. At the time, it held a five-year, USD 200 million (EUR 169 million) asset-based revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance acting as the administrative agent, as well as a six-year, USD 650 million (EUR 550 million) loan with Brookfield Principal Credit as the administrative agent."
"The company faces further financial constraints in the form of an agreement with the DOJ that its criminal fine will increase in the event it is sold. "
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